Right to the City: Hong Kong as an Example

Free and open to the public

Registration required.

In this talk, Prof. Laikwan Pang will discuss the global meanings of Hong Kong’s democratic project. Inspired by David Harvey’s call for the right to the city, she will explore how Hong Kong has been both a polis and a refugee city as well as how we can learn from this history to respond to the recent political events both in the city and across the world. In this talk, Prof. Pang will argue that the kind of political autonomy that Hong Kong needs is one that could continue to maintain its liberalism and progressiveness, be receptive to people and ideas from China and all over the world, and at the same time be committed to the continual development of its civil society and its cultural identity.

Prof. Laikwan Pang 彭麗君 received her Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Washington University in St. Louis and has taught at the Chinese University of Hong Kong since 2002. Her research interests include film studies, visual studies, creativity, aesthetics, as well as cultural and political theories. Among her publications are: Building a New China in Cinema (2002), Cultural Control and Globalization in Asia (2006), Distorting Mirror (2007), Creativity and Its Discontents (2012), and The Art of Cloning (2017). Her forthcoming book, The Appearing Demos (2020), will discuss the recent dissident movements in Hong Kong from both a global perspective and a cultural perspective.

This public lecture is organized by the Hong Kong Studies Initiative and is generously sponsored by the Interdisciplinary Histories Cluster, St. John’s College, Department of Asian Studies, Department of Geography, Department of History, and Centre for Chinese Research.